Marijuana industry could be uprooted by pesticide lawsuit

The marijuana industry may be booming in Colorado, but pot entrepreneurs face a very big problem: pesticides.

Two marijuana users, including a cancer patient, filed a lawsuit last week against a pot business that they claimed used an unhealthy pesticide to grow its weed. The pesticide in question is Eagle 20 EW, a fungicide often used on grapes and hops.

The chemicals, used to stave off mites, mildew and other pests, could also be harmful to humans when used on a product that is later burned for inhalation. Eagle 20, in particular, contains a chemical called myclobutanil that produces toxic hydrogen cyanide gas when burned.

The lawsuit alleges that LiveWell, a pot company in Denver, should be penalized for using a pesticide that was not listed by the state as safe for use on marijuana.